Tribal Relations is a community and university driven resource for all faculty, staff, students, and community members to learn about and build lasting connections with Tribal Nations.

Together, we are working to engage in meaningful and reciprocal relations with Sovereign Indigenous Nations and their citizens, especially the 11 Sovereign Nations across Virginia.

Tribal Relations is fundamentally about building relationships and raising awareness in support of collaborative success across departments, schools, and administrative units of the University and Tribal communities.

Email the Tribal Liaison Join the Mailing List

Watch the Welcome to Monacan Country Video

The Monacan Nation Cultural Foundation partnered with the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection and Virginia Humanities to produce a video to acknowledge the Monacan Nation. Watch the 90-second Welcome to Monacan Country video.

If you are interested in screening this video, please email the Monacan Nation Cultural Foundation at [email protected]. You can learn more about acknowledging indigenous custodians by visiting the Kluge-Ruhe website.

Understanding Tribal Relations

Federal and State Recognized Tribes in Virginia

To learn more about each of the federally or state-recognized tribes in Virginia, you can visit their websites for more information.

Monacan Indian Nation
Mattaponi Tribe
Pamunkey Tribe
Chickahominy Tribe
Chickahominy Indians Eastern Division
Rappahannock Tribe
Upper Mattaponi Tribe
Nansemond Indian Nation
Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Tribe
Nottoway Indian Tribe
Patawomeck Indian Tribe

Indian Country 101

Our team is working on assembling resources to help our community connect to our specific context. While that work is in progress we wanted to share information on a free online course related to tribal engagement from Conservation Training. If you are interested in learning more access their courses:

IC 101 (a): Crash Course in Native History in the U.S.
IC 101 (b): Tribal Governments Today
IC 101 (c): Identity, Citizenship, and Culture

You can also learn more about some of the history specific to Virginia and UVA through the following:

Library of Virginia Indigenous Perspectives - Tribal Voices
Monacan Nation Receives Federal Recognition
The Language Ghost: Linguistic Heritage and Collective Identity Among the Monacan Indians of Central Virginia
UVA Morven Farm/"Indian Camp" Property
Monacan Millennium: A Collaborative Archaeology and History of a Virginia Indian People
Indigenous Peoples in Virginia (Virginia Encyclopedia)

Resources for Educators

Leaders and citizens of tribal nations in Virginia have communicated an important goal of having opportunities for students in Virginia to engage with tribal histories, current tribal affairs, and the many contributions tribal nations are making toward a prosperous future for everyone in the Commonwealth.

The following resources may be of specific interest to current and future educators:

Virginia Tribal Education Consortium - Teacher's Corner
National Museum of the American Indian - Native Knowledge 360
Indigenous Peoples in Virginia (Virginia Encyclopedia)
Untold Stories: Maverick's Monacan Homeland - a children's book about the Monacan Indian Nation
Library of Virginia's Indigenous Perspectives Exhibition

Indigenous Studies and Education at UVA

The University of Virginia has undergraduate and graduate programs centering indigenous studies as well as several programs and centers that relate to supporting the advancement of Native American and Indigenous life at UVA.

Indigenous Studies Minor (Undergraduate)
Indigenous Studies Research Cluster (Graduate)
Mellon Indigenous Art Program
Black Indigenous Feminist Futures Institute
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection
Native American Student Union
Native and Indigenous Relations Community @ UVA
UVA Native/Indigenous Student Resources
UVA Library American Indian and Indigenous Studies Guide

SCHEV Virginia Indigenous Nations in Higher Education Collective

UVA is participating in a new effort through the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV). VINHE is a new collective convened by SCHEV that will serve as a conduit of communication and collaboration between higher education and the Commonwealth’s Tribal Nations. The collective is dedicated to supporting Indigenous access and equity in higher education through collaborative instruction, research, engagement, and capacity building activities. Members of the collective include representatives from tribal nations, higher education institutions, and other stakeholders and organizations.

There are currently six focus areas for the collective:

1. Land and Watershed Management and Conservation
2. Cultural Resources: History, Archives, Justice
3. Preparation for, Access to, and Success in Higher Education
4. Legal Issues, Infrastructure, and Business Development
5. Embracing Tribal History in K-12 Education Standards
6. Tribal Community Health

Learn more about the work of the collective.

National Native American/Indigenous Resources

National Indian Education Association (NIEA)
National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO)
Southeastern Tribal Alliance for Repatriation and Reburial (STARR)
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Education
Indian Health Service
U.S Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network
Global Indigenous Data Alliance
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums
WeRNative.Org - For Native Youth, By Native Youth

NIH Ethical Research Involving American Indian/Alaska Native Populations

View this webinar to learn about tribal sovereignty and how to respect Indigenous perspectives when planning, conducting, and reviewing research with American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities.